I found that with my previous bike, that my right hand and arm would sometimes get tired from gripping the throttle, even tho I had a throttle rocker. Now that I have cruise control on my "new" Wing, I'm not sure if I would/should use it. In my car, I use it often on the 4 lanes (depending on the volume of traffic), so I thought I would put the question to the more experienced riders. Of course it all depends on road, weather, and traffic conditions.
Whatcha all think?

I have ridden over 150,000 miles on Gold Wings. Yes I use the cruise control. It is very accurate at maintaining the speed and by using it I am able to keep my speed below the level to attract radar enforcement or other speed enforcement.

From 35 miles and up without hesitation. I like to twist the throttle but cruise saves me from getting tickets. Only a slight tap on foot brake pedal and it drops out. Reverse and cruise are why I own a Goldwing.

I use mine all of the time o the highway. It's a wrist saver on a long ride like I do several times a year. Last year I found out how nice it is when I took a trip up to Cleveland and after stopping at the welcome center in Georgia I got back on I95 heading north and it would not engage. Had to make the whole round trip without it, (could not find a shop around Cleveland that was able to troubleshoot the problem while I was up there). Come to find out it was the combination switch mounted on the front brake lever.
Aside from the switch it has caused me to replace the left grip twice because of wear. As they are heated grips that is a little more expensive and time consuming than replacing the non-heated ones. By the way my ride is a 2006 and as I change the oil and filter every 3000 miles I just did my 64th oil change last weekend. I have just over 192,000 on the odometer with no problems other than normal wear and tear.

Hardly ever.I probably haven't put 50 miles on total in 10 years.Only use it mostly to free up my right hand to check to make sure I have my wallet or to give my hand a shake once in a while since I broke my wrist.Saying all that though I hardly ever run any multi-lane roads or run hard enough to worry about tickets.

If I'da known it would last this long,I'da taken better care of it.
Chris
Double Dark
Darkside # 1602

It is one of the great lifesavers about owning this bike. I have tendonitis in my back and my arms go dead if I have to hold the throttle open manually. I pretty much drive my goldwing by wire on the highway. Set the cruise and use the accel/coast buttons to handle the traffic speed. Either brake, and also the clutch cancel it out for safety. Since I have owned the bike, I have never pressed the on/off button for the cruise. It has been left on since new.

brettchallenger wrote:My wife adamantly refuses to use the one in the car, she says she doesn't feel in control.

I can tell you as a retired pilot, it's the ultimate "in control" by being able to (1) control things with your fingertips and to (2) be able to fine tune controlling speeds up or down in 1 MPH increments... Flew every airplane I was in using autopilot and using other buttons to alter headings and altitudes and speeds by refined minuscule amounts... that's the way to fly a fighter jet just a few hundred feet above the tree tops doing several hundred miles per hour... or to fly any jet in severe weather on a precision approach like an ILS to land... it's the ultimate in controls, lol... the name, in a car or on our Wing, IS Cruise CONTROL...

When I get the thing fixed, I'll use the heck out of it. I used it on my other 'Wing's and on my Voyager XII's.
Like others have said, when you don't have to constantly monitor your speed, and worry about LEO's, the trip becomes more enjoyable.

For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain:

I was surprised at how often I use mine! I seldom bother in the cars we own, as the roads hereabouts are stop-and-go, 24/7, but when I get out on open highway (usually, on the 'Wing!) the CC comes in handy. I don't know why it's so accurate, but it is - it will hold +/- better than 1 mph, and bumping the up & down switches allows adjustments of 1 mph or so at a time...particularly useful when riding in a large group.

I use it all the time. As soon as I hit the highway it goes on. Kick it off by simply taping a brake or clutch slow down to go through a speed zone then back to resume and the preset speed. Not having to constantly monitor the speedo is great. I ride quite often guys who don't use the cruise. No problem if I am in the lead but if I am following it is like a yeo yeo. Went for a ride a few days ago and the other guy does not use cruise. During the first half of 200 mile ride he burn't about 3/4 gallon more fuel

I use cruise about 75% of the ride, or whenever possible. If I could take the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control from my Prius and put it on the bike it would be done. Set it and allow it to adjust to prevailing speed. And it keeps me from getting tickets.

Once I fixed the cruise control engagement lag, it made the cruise control on my GL1500 far more pleasant to use. Before my GL1500, I had a throttle friction lock on my GL1100 that I used all the time. With my GL1500, I generally use it only on the highway when travelling for some distance. It makes a big difference when holding the throttle for hours at a time!

I leave mine turned on all the time, it never gets turned off. That way, whenever I need it, all I have to think about doing is hitting the "Set" button.

When I want to disengage it, for whatever reason, to avoid flashing my brake lights at the person behind me, I will very gently squeeze my clutch lever until the cruise disconnect switch is depressed. This doesn't push the lever far enough to actually disengage the clutch, but it causes the cruise control to cancel.

Incidentally, I will periodically check the various cruise disconnect switches periodically, just as part of a safety check, to ensure they are all working. Your cruise should immediately disconnect when:

I use it all the time on the highway, it's a wrist saver. However I avoid it on two lane roads, you never know what's around the corner !
It has saved me many speeding tickets on long trips. It seems to me that every time I've seen highway patrol cars on the road, is when they're giving out tickets.
To me, cruise control is a good option, it's up to the operator to use it properly.